Taiwan's Riot Police Are Back In Black

Clone the love-child of Darth Vader and Jason Voorhees a few dozen times and what do you get? Taiwan's black-clad, face-masked and body-armored riot police unit, that's what. No wonder the only serious riots in Taiwan are those that occur (with frequency, one might add) between rival parliamentarians inside the national legislature.

Whomever designed the look of these modern-day ninjas knew what they were doing. In addition to being black as a moonless night save for national flag and rank/insignia badges on the right shoulders, the uniforms seamlessly meld lightweight plastic shielding with low-reflection matte fabric that should make the wearers practically invisible after dark.

The black fingerless gloves are a nice added touch; at least the guys can easily text and Tweet in between demonstrators' massed charges. No selfies, stormtrooper dudes.

We're not sure if Taiwan's elite public security police have been put through their paces in actual scenes of public disorder but the strategy of performing practice training drills in broad daylight is a stroke of genius.

Why not show potential troublemakers what they'll be going up against before the tear gas hits the fan? It's sure to save on tear gas, for one. What we'd really like to see, however, is for demonstrators to purchase a gross of surplus Star Wars white stormtrooper suits and go mano a mano with the government's dark knights. (via Shanghaiist)

This is a disgustingly exaggerative attempt by the Chinese Nationalist Party to discourage protesters of other political parties, especially the Democratic Progressive Party. The Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomingtang) only serves the desires of the corrupt government officials loyal to China, neglecting the needs of the Taiwanese public. Ask any Taiwanese commoner his/her thoughts on the current "president" Ma Ying-Jeou and his/her reply will express not only Ma's ineptitude but also his lack of duty and passion toward the Taiwanese people. I hope Taiwan's future consists of a dutiful and transparent government, serving the needs of Taiwanese people while positively participating in the global community.

Advertisers are our main source of revenue. When we link to certain sites, we may receive a small commission for sales using our links. The opinions expressed on our website reflect the unbiased opinions of our reviewers. If we receive a free sample for review or a small fee to write an "advertorial", that is clearly noted in the article.